Manufacture of floor-covering



J. FUNAHASHI.

MANUFACTURE OF FLOOR COVERING.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-11,1915.

Patented J an. 27, 1920.

31: us v for Jo Funa/m-s/n wih-zoo JO FUNAHASHI, 0F KOBE, JAPAN.

MANUFACTURE OF FLOOR-COVERING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 27, 1920.

Application filed December 11, 1915. Serial No. 66,345.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J o F UNAHASHI, citizen of Japan, residing at No.66, 2 Cl1ome, Wakillama, Kobe, Japan, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in the Mannfacture of Floor-Covering; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to woven floor coverings manufactured ofvegetable fibers or fibrous material and particularly to a floorcovering in which the weft is composed of relatively thick strands orthreads of rush, straw, grass, hemp or the like, while the warp consistsof relatively fine threads of cotton or other suitable material.

Instead, however, of interlacing the alternate threads of the warp aboveand below the weft threads throughout the fabric, as is usual in plainweaving, the warp threads are floated over two or more weft threads inany desired portion of the fabric surface, so that these floated threadsserve to work out any desired figures or patterns on the surface. Inorder to hold down and prevent displacement of the floated warp threadsof the pattern, there is also employed a separate weft or filler thread,which may be termed the binder filling, this binder filling beingsuitably interlaced with the warp in such manner as to securely hold thefloated threads in position. In the most desirable form of my invention,each thread of the binder filling overlies one of the relatively thickweft strands instead of lying between said strands.

The general object of the invention thus briefly described above is towork out any required figures or patterns on the floor c0v ering bymeans of the warp threads which are made to come out on the uppersurface of the fabric as described; and furthermore to increase thedurability of the fabric by preventing displacement of the floatedthreads composing the patterns or figures.

Two practical embodiments of the invention are illustrated more or lessdiagrammatically by way of example in the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Figure 1 shows a preferred fabric construction in plan, where the numberof the warp threads appearing on the wearin surface and back of thefabric are unequaI;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section on the line .A-A of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows in plan another fabric within the invention, the number ofwarp threads appearing on both sides of the fabric being equal in thiscase;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section on the line BB of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, the relatively coarse weft or of rush, straw,grass, able vegetable fiber, which fibers may be employed individuallyor twisted together into a strand of the proper size. The warp threadsare indicated at 2 and are small as compared to the filler strands. 3represents the so-called binder filling, consisting of small threads ofcotton, hemp, or papyrus yarn. It will be noted that in the fabriclllustrated in Fig. 1, the binder filling threads 3 are arranged tooverlie the coarse filler strands 1 at those locations where saidthreads are performing their function of binding down the floated warpthreads.

The desired figures produced by thus weaving the warp may be worked outin many different ways. For instance, when warp threads of more than twodifferent colors are used, the same figure may be produced in differentcolors on the face and back of the floor covering, one color for theface and the other color for the back. If in such case the number ofwarp threads appearing on the face of the fabric and on the back beunequal, the binder thread, controlled by the tension strength of thewarp, acts to hold down the raised or floated warp threads on the facewhere they appear in greater number (Fig. 1). On the other hand, if thewarp threads appear on both sides in equal number their balanced tensionstrength causes the binder thread to press down the floated ortion ofthe warp at the middle of the weft (Fig. 3).

Among other advantages secured by the lnvention is the ability to workout figures resembling those produced by printing. This is made possibleby floating the warp threads as described, by using warp and weftthreads of different sizes, and by the use of variously colored warpthreads; but the figures produced are very much more fast and durablethan printed figures. Moreover, the cost of production is less. The useof the binder filling threads prevents the possibility of the floatedwarp 1 represents filler strands hemp or other suitthreads being caughtand broken When the floor covering is in use, especiallyas in thepreferred form of the invention, each of the binder filling threads,which are equalin number to the Weft threads, ties down all or" thefloated warp threads.

What I claim is 2 1. A fabric for floor covering or the like Whichcomprises suitable Warp threads and Weft threads, certain of the Warpthreads being -floated over several Weft threads to produce patterneifects,in combination with binder filling threads equal in number tothe Weft threads and tying down the floating portions of the Warpthreads, each binder filling thread overlying a Weft thread.

2. A fabric for floor covering or the like whlch comprlses relatlvelysmall Warp threads, Weft threads of relatively larger size, at least apart of the Warp threads having portions floated over several Weftthreads to produce pattern efiects, in combination'with binder fillingthreads, each of Which ties down all the floated Warp threads andoverlies a weftthread.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiiX-my signature in the presence oftwo Witnesses.

JO FUNAHASHI. [Ls] Witnesses a W. EBIHARAH, S. MATs DA,

